


The magic of mistletoe

by kihobebe



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alcohol, Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Fluff, Happy, M/M, Minor Chae Hyungwon/Lee Minhyuk, Minor Lee Minhyuk/Yoo Kihyun, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 17:11:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17145737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihobebe/pseuds/kihobebe
Summary: Five Christmas days Hoseok and Kihyun spent togetherand one in which they were actually together.





	The magic of mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS!!! or happy holidays if you don't celebrate :) I wish you an amazing end of the year, too, and an even better 2019!! <33

1st Christmas 

 

The first time they met, Hoseok was wearing an ugly Christmas sweater. It was not the ugliest sweater he’d ever worn in his whole life, but it was a solid eight on a scale from one to ten in Christmas sweaters ugliness. He was pretty proud of its ugliness, too.

It was Christmas day, and as usual Hoseok’s family had gathered together to celebrate. Their most respected tradition was the one of wearing ugly Christmas sweaters to their family dinner, and that year Hoseok loved the one he had found. It had Santa riding a dinosaur embroidered on it, and it had made his younger cousin laugh for at least a solid minute. He felt accomplished. He couldn’t wait to meet Minhyuk, his favourite cousin, because the young man always found the best sweaters and made every Christmas a little funnier.

Minhyuk was always the loudest at family dinners, and Hoseok enjoyed his obnoxious gay presence because it made things bubblier and happier, especially during the winter holidays. During cold, rigid nights he was the warm ray of sunshine they all needed.

What Hoseok didn’t expect that year was for Minhyuk to bring over his new boyfriend.  
Hoseok had heard things about this Kihyun guy, because Minhyuk was one to talk for hours non-stop, narrating every little detail of his life. Getting a call from Minhyuk always meant that Hoseok would spend at least a hour glued to the phone, patiently listening to whatever his cousin had to say. The last time Minhyuk called, he told Hoseok about his new boyfriend, among other things.

What Hoseok remembered about Kihyun, beside his name, was that he was just some days younger than Minhyuk and that he was studying to become a professional photographer. Minhyuk met him by chance, answering to an add online searching for a nude model. It was a very Minhyuk thing to do, not being ashamed of stripping down before a complete stranger and then charm his pants off, scoring a boyfriend out of it.

When Hoseok first put his eyes on Kihyun, the boy was laughing at something Minhyuk had whispered in his ear, and for a second or two Hoseok’s breath was stolen away from his lungs. The conversation he was having with his aunt was forgotten for a moment, his attention being focused on the most beautiful eye-smile Hoseok had ever seen in his whole life. A buzzing filled his veins, making him deaf to the noises around him. 

Realizing he was staring at a complete stranger, he finally turned back to his aunt, who was looking at him with a knowing glint in her eyes. She didn’t say anything, but she patted his arm lightly before making her way to the buffet to fill her cup.

Gravitating towards Minhyuk had never been easier for Hoseok, who felt the pull of some magical, astral force making him move towards the couple. They were still laughing right below some mistletoe.

Before Hoseok could get to them, Minhyuk noticed the tiny branches hanging from the ceiling, raising his gaze and then lowering his head to press a kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. Hoseok turned around as fast as he could and he went right back from where he was coming from.

What came over him was something definitely weird, something he had never experienced before in his twenty-two years of life. Whenever Minhyuk’s boyfriend met his eyes from the other side of the room, Hoseok felt electricity run through his veins, his body being charged with it, the hair on his whole body raising up. Whenever the couple got closer to him, Hoseok did all that was in his power to flee the scene and find himself as far away from them as possible. He felt kind of stupid, running around his parents’ house to avoid his favourite cousin, but he couldn’t help it.

He spent all night escaping from Minhyuk and his too good-looking other half. At some point he had to hide in the bathroom before Minhyuk could trap him in a corner, and honestly Hoseok felt ashamed while watching his own bright pink cheeks in the mirror. He didn’t understand what was wrong with him and his fight or flight instinct going off in that situation. What was he running from? His cousin, or his cousin’s boyfriend? Or both of them?

After washing his face and patting his cheeks once or twice, he opened the door of the toilet, realizing there was someone waiting outside. It was Kihyun.

“Oh, I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” Hoseok apologized, bowing his head to hide his crimson face. He hoped Kihyun would go in without speaking to him, but he had no such luck.

“It’s ok,” Kihyun said, his voice sounding like sweet, melted chocolate to Hoseok’s ears. Why was his brain doing such comparisons, he was not sure.

“You’re Hoseok, right?” Kihyun asked right after, not giving Hoseok enough time to disappear and bury himself between the Christmas presents, under the tree.  
“Yeah, that’s me,” he lamely said, realizing too late that he didn’t ask for Kihyun’s name, even though he already knew it.

“I’m Kihyun. Minhyuk talks about you a lot.”  
“Does he?”

Finally rising his eyes on Kihyun’s face, Hoseok’s breath got stuck in his throat when he met his stare. Kihyun’s features were even sharper from up close, but his gaze was glowing with a warm light, something akin to delightment sparkling in it. It made Hoseok’s face and ears glow pink again.

“He does. He’s really proud of his favourite cousin,” Kihyun told him, a smile softening his face and making his eyes disappear into tiny crescents. Hoseok stared at him, unable to utter a single word.

“Well, I’m gonna wash my hands and then stuff my face with food. I played with your dog,” Kihyun explained, showing his palms as if Hoseok could see the drool his dear dog had left on his skin. Even though he couldn’t see it, Hoseok could imagine it. Nuvi had the ability to drool a lot in a very short span of time.

“She’s a good girl, but sometimes she gets too excited.”

“She’s very cute,” Kihyun beamed again, and Hoseok had to look away before his eyes got burned forever, “What’s her name?”

“Nuvola, Nuvi for short.”

“That’s adorable,” Kihyun cooed, and Hoseok was sure that his blush would never fade away, it would stay high on his cheeks for the rest of his life. Kihyun wasn’t even complimenting him, he was just enamoured with Hoseok’s big, fluffy Samoyed. And still, Hoseok felt as if Kihyun had just told him that he was the adorable one.

“I’m gonna wash my hands now, I’m craving something sweet.”

“Don’t drink too much eggnog, my aunt always spikes it,” Hoseok told him, trying to get a grip on himself and carry on a normal conversation. He could do that, right? Kihyun was just a normal guy with a normal looking face and a normal looking body. Hoseok could talk to him casually.

Kihyun snorted a laugh through his nose, a glint in his gaze that made a shiver run through Hoseok’s spine. He tried to suppress it, but he knew he failed when Kihyun furrowed his brows.

“Are you cold?” he asked, looking concerned. Hoseok wondered why was he being so sweet, and, more importantly, where the fuck was Minhyuk.

“No, no. I’m fine. This sweater is really warm,” Hoseok hugged himself, smiling at Kihyun and not knowing if he wanted to escape the conversation or to keep talking to the pretty boyfriend of his cousin. He really needed to disappear.

“It’s a pretty sweater,” Kihyun commented, his eyes slipping down Hoseok’s torso. Hoseok’s did the same, and soon enough he realized his nipples were visible even through the thick fabric. He cursed his own body for betraying him like that.

“Well! I’ll go catch up with Minhyuk! Enjoy the night,” he said, bowing his head again in goodbye and running away as if demons were chasing him.

 

*****

2nd Christmas 

 

It was Jooheon’s idea. One day, during one of their casual weekly hangouts, Jooheon stated that for Christmas they should buy presents for each other, something they’ve never done before. It was a cute plan, one that would mean getting an extra present under the tree for Christmas day. Hoseok liked having extra gifts to unwrap. Gifts made Christmas days worth living.

Secret Santa sounded like a good, fun time. What could go wrong with that? Hoseok just had to pick a piece of paper from a beanie and buy a cute, sweet present for one of his friends. Easy, right? That’s what he thought when Minhyuk suggested it, and so Hoseok pulled a name out with a light heart. 

Unrelated and not so funny thing, Minhyuk and Kihyun had broken up during the year, around March. They were still on very friendly terms, they just decided they weren’t made to be together as a couple. Minhyuk had explained to Hoseok that Kihyun was amazing, but they really were too different to be anything more than friends. Hoseok blood didn’t frizzle in his veins when he got the news, his heart didn’t beat faster. Kihyun was single? Well, good for him.

Kihyun had started to hang out with Minhyuk and his friends more often, and Hoseok, always the brave one, had bailed on them every single time Kihyun went out with the group.

He didn’t know what he was expecting for Secret Santa, but for sure it wasn’t pulling Kihyun’s name out of the hat. Cursing his luck, he asked Minhyuk to switch with him, because he didn’t know Kihyun at all. What could Hoseok possibly buy for him? Minhyuk knew him much better than he did. Minhyuk knew what Kihyun liked and what he didn’t, and he probably knew what he already had, too. Hoseok’s request of a switch was reasonable enough.

Minhyuk told Hoseok that he had actually pulled _his_ name, so unless he wanted to buy a present for his own self he should stick with getting something for Kihyun. Hoseok pouted a little, unsure if Minhyuk was playing with him or if what his cousin was saying was the truth. Minhyuk refused to show him his slip of paper.

So, Hoseok had a couple of weeks to choose something to buy for Kihyun that would make at least a decent present.

There were just a few things he knew about Kihyun, and none of them were useful for buying him a low-budget gift, because Hoseok knew that Kihyun was a photographer and there was no photography equipment that could be considered cheap. Unless he bought him an old disposable camera, which he could pass off as vintage, maybe.

He remembered vaguely that Kihyun liked dogs, but he had no clue if he had one at home. What if he bought him a dog collar and Kihyun thought it was meant for him? Hoseok would seem like a creep with weird kinks.

The rest of his friends turned out to be useless, they didn’t seem to know anything helpful about Kihyun. Jooheon told him that Kihyun liked cooking, but Hoseok didn’t know what kind of cooking did he do. Was he a baker? Did he make homemade pasta? Jooheon didn’t know, and he didn’t know what kind of tools Kihyun already had in his kitchen. What if he bought him something he already had? Not a good option.  
Hyunwoo told him to buy Kihyun some chocolate or some other food, but Hoseok was better than that. Hyungwon just told him to fuck off and ask someone that wasn’t napping.

Minhyuk kept being his little bratty self, refusing to suggest anything to Hoseok, stating that he should follow his heart. As if that was a good advice.

Five days before Christmas Hoseok was losing his mind, because their little group was supposed to gather together the following night and he still didn’t have a present for Kihyun.

Walking through shops upon shops, he realized he didn’t know a single thing about Kihyun, but maybe he could find something that reminded him of Kihyun.

Thinking of the first (and only) time they had a conversation, Hoseok remembered how speaking to Kihyun had made him feel. That fuzzy emotion in his chest, warm and sweet, like when he stood under the sun on a cold day, his nose growing pink under the light. He remembered Kihyun’s voice, the way he talked to him with sparks alighting his eyes, and the way his voice sounded as smooth as melted chocolate poured over strawberries. All about Kihyun made Hoseok think of warmth and coziness, something sweet with a sour note at the end that made the flavour even more interesting.

He ended up buying a scarf. A big, fluffy, soft, yellow scarf. He saw it folded on a shelf and it immediately made him think of the dark-haired man, of the way it would look around his long neck, hiding his pointy nose and showing only his eyes curled up in a grateful smile.

When they exchanged their presents the following night, all seven of them were sitting together at a table for the first time ever. Hoseok was right in front of Kihyun, squished between Jooheon and Hyunwoo. He couldn’t avoid looking at his cousin’s ex boyfriend even if he wanted to. Being completely honest, he didn’t want to look away.

Kihyun had a magnetic power over him that Hoseok couldn't’ explain with words. Whenever he moved his gaze, he felt the need to put his eyes back on Kihyun. And whenever he did, put his eyes back on Kihyun, he always found Kihyun looking directly at him with a small smile curling his lips. It made him blush and try to avoid eye contact.

The assembly (read as: Minhyuk) decided that everyone would open their presents only on Christmas day, and that they would send each other’s pictures of what they got. It was supposed to be a secret, but everyone already knew who bought their gifts.

Hoseok had two reasons to be nervous that Christmas day: one, was the gift that Minhyuk got him, which was sitting under the tree wrapped in dark red paper with golden stars on it. Hoseok knew his cousin, and he was expecting to find something extremely embarrassing in the package given that he would open it with his parents. The other reason, was Kihyun’s possible reaction to the scarf. Would he like it? Would he found it useless and stupid? He had no way to really know.

When he found a butt plug inside Minhyuk’s box, Hoseok couldn’t say he was really surprised. He peeked inside discreetly, avoiding showing it to his family, but his suspicious acts raised giggles from his mother. He couldn’t help but blush a little.

What left him in awe, was the message Kihyun sent him. It was kinda short, just a heartfelt thank you and some Christmas emojis, but it had a very cute and unexpected picture attached to it.

A selfie of Kihyun with the yellow scarf around his neck, all of his face buried in it, only his eye smile peeking out. Hoseok’s heart was suddenly full of Christmas joy.

 

*****

3rd Christmas

 

When Hoseok was younger, Christmas Eve was always charged with that electric, buzzing feeling. That feeling of expectation, of enthusiasm, of curiosity for what he would find under the tree the following morning. He remembered going to sleep early to wake up even earlier on Christmas day, unwrapping presents in his pajamas while his mother made them breakfast.

Growing up dissolved part of that emotion, of that bubbly joy filling his veins whenever he realized there was something waiting for him under the branches. Of unwrapping colorful gifts and loving whatever he would find under the sparkly paper and pretty bows.

Christmas Eve now just meant either having dinner with his family or organizing the lunch for the following day, and most of the magic had disappeared from the day. Growing up meant losing things along the way, and at age twenty-four some of Hoseok’s Christmas spirit went lost.

That year his friends had decided to have a dinner together on Christmas day, and everyone had left the ungrateful task of baking cookies to Hoseok. Despite pouting and whining about the unfairness of leaving him alone to do such a hard task, Hoseok didn’t really mind.

He put on a Christmas playlist and started preparing the ingredients, checking if he had everything in his kitchen and snapping a selfie for the groupchat, to show how he was diligently doing his job.  
Soon his apartment started to fill with the sound of happiness, while he whisked flour and sugar together and he sang along to Michael Bublè, his eyes closed while he blasted the notes out loud in the emptiness of his home.

He was about to put in the oven the first batch of cookies when the doorbell rang loudly, scaring him and making him almost drop the trail he had between his hands. He made his way over to the entrance, opening up and expecting to found his mom on the other side of the door with her secret recipe for Tiramisu that he had asked for.

Instead, bundled up in a very familiar yellow scarf, he found Kihyun.

“Happy Christmas Eve!” the grey-haired boy exclaimed, smiling at Hoseok and pushing him a little to get inside. Hoseok stared at him, speechless, while the other removed his shoes and coat and made himself comfortable.

“It’s so cold today, my nose would have fallen off if it wasn’t for your scarf.”  
Directing another blinding smile at Hoseok, Kihyun moved through his apartment like if it was his place, following the sound of music coming from the kitchen.

Since the previous Christmas, Hoseok had tried to stop avoiding Kihyun. They had grown closer over the course of the year, getting to hang out together more with all of their friends, but rarely alone.

Kihyun showing up at his place uninvited was something Hoseok thought he would never see in his life. But there they were, Kihyun standing in Hoseok’s kitchen with his hands on his hips, overlooking the batch of cookies ready to be put in the oven with a frown upon his face.

“Did you put ginger in them?”

“Of course I put ginger in them, what kind of gingerbread men would they be otherwise?”

Kihyun raised his eyebrows at him, showing some kind of scepticism that Hoseok couldn’t understand. Maybe he wasn’t the best baker in town, but he wasn’t half bad either.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” Hoseok asked, navigating around Kihyun to finally bake the little men.

“Minhyuk sent me to supervise your work,” Kihyun said, a knowing grin curling his lips, “He said that last time you tried to bake something you almost set your place on fire.”

“That was one time and I was sixteen, can he stop bringing it up?” Hoseok whined, covering his face with his hands to hide the light pink decorating them. The delighted giggle coming from Kihyun’s mouth made Hoseok blush even harder.

“I just came to check on you and help you so you can finish faster. I’ll treat you to dinner after,” Kihyun told him, starting to open drawers and cupboards in search for tools prepare the frosting. Hoseok stopped him before he could make a mess, handing him everything he needed.

“That’s very nice of you, but there’s no need,” Hoseok told him, giving him the whisk and focusing on the way he energetically mixed ingredients together, his tongue held between his teeth in concentration, his hair falling into his eyes. Hoseok wanted to reach out and tuck it behind his ear.

“I just felt like thanking you for the nice present you gave me last year.”

Kihyun’s cheeks were as pink as Hoseok’s, but both of them decided to ignore it.

Conversation with Kihyun flowed easily, and soon enough all cookies were baked and ready to be decorated. Hoseok discovered yet another thing about Kihyun that he didn’t know about: he was a perfectionist.

“You’re ruining them!” Kihyun called out, pointing at the crooked way Hoseok was putting glaze upon one of the little gingerbread men. Hoseok looked at it for a second, unsure of what he was doing wrong.

“What do you mean I’m ruining them? They look amazing,” he commented, going back to his task and ignoring Kihyun’s annoyed hiss of displeasure.

“You can’t even draw a straight line!” the shorter man cried out, pointing at the twirls Hoseok was making on top of the cookies. Shrugging his shoulders, Hoseok kept ignoring him.

“I won’t stand this slaughter,” Kihyun affirmed before snatching the frosting from Hoseok’s hands to prevent him from doing further damage.  
“Hey! I was doing a great job!” Hoseok huffed, trying to reach Kihyun and get his tools back. Kihyun took a couple of steps back, quickly putting some distance between them to avoid Hoseok’s attempts at retrieving the frosting.

“I’m gonna do it! You just watch!” Kihyun told him, circling around the room, his eyes following Hoseok’s movements. The red-haired man followed him slowly, waiting for the moment he could snatch the frosting out of his hands.

“I was doing a good job, give that back.”  
“You were not! You can’t decorate for shit.”  
“I can and I was doing just that!”

Jumping forward, Hoseok extended his hands out to trap Kihyun in his arms and against the kitchen counter, but Kihyun was fast into dipping his forefinger into the bowl and smear Hoseok’s cheek with the sugary, sticky substance inside it.

“Kihyun!”

“What!”  
While his eyes sparkled with amusement, Kihyun gathered some more frosting on the top of his finger and put it right in front of Hoseok’s nose.

“Let me decorate or I’ll cover your face with this,” he threatened, but Hoseok was faster than him. Without thinking too much, he took Kihyun’s digit inside his mouth to lick it clean. Kihyun’s breath hitched in his throat, and suddenly Hoseok realized that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. Kihyun’s gaze grew sharper, his eyebrows knitting over his eyes while they stayed glued on Hoseok’s face.

Hoseok knew his cheeks were growing red under Kihyun’s stare, but he couldn’t help sucking a little on his finger before letting it go with a wet pop. The silence stretching between them after that made Hoseok’s stomach fill with dread and fear. What if he stepped over some boundary and ruined the friendly atmosphere between them? He opened his mouth to apologize, but Kihyun moved faster than him. Thrusting the bowl filled with frosting into Hoseok’s arms, he turned back towards the kitchen counter.

“We can split the cookies,” he conceded, and Hoseok noticed the light pink covering his ears, “but you’ll follow my orders.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hoseok couldn’t help giggling a little throughout the process of decorating, because Kihyun kept pouting and knitting his eyebrows every time he threw a look at Hoseok’s cookies.

“Look, Kihyun,” he called out at some point, when the other man had been distracted for a while with his job.

“What?”

Hoseok put a gingerbread man under Kihyun’s nose, pointing at his angry expression that Hoseok had crafted to resemble the grey-haired man.  
“It’s you!”

Kihyun gave a look at the cookie and when his eyes fell upon Hoseok’s face again, his expression was the same as the little man in Hoseok’s hands. Not being able to contain himself, Hoseok snorted a laugh through his nose.

“See? The same.”

“Shut up and decorate.”

 

*****

4th Christmas 

 

Minhyuk and Hyungwon had moved in together. Hoseok didn’t know how Hyungwon could stand living with someone as loud and lively as Minhyuk when he liked sleeping that much, but he supposed that love made people do things they would never do otherwise.

Their housewarming dinner fell just a couple of days before Christmas, and Minhyuk had gone all out to decorate the apartment. There were so many fairy lights strewn around that Hoseok wondered just how much their electricity bill would amount to at the end of the month.

Minhyuk had also exaggerated with the mistletoe, hanging it up in every single corner of the house, hiding it in places Hoseok would have never thought of, like over the toilet. Minhyuk was weird like that.

The first ones falling prey of Minhyuk’s meddling were Changkyun and Jooheon. The two poor men didn’t see the little plant hanging above their heads when they entered through the door, and Minhyuk smartly stopped them there, asking them to remove their shoes. That way they were standing right below the mistletoe, eliciting delighted giggles from the host that trapped them.

“You have to kiss!” Minhyuk yelled, pointing at the branches and showing his usual cunning smile. Jooheon groaned, but he turned towards Changkyun and planted a peck on his cheek.

“I’m not gonna kiss Changkyun on the mouth, not even in a hundred years,” he told Minhyuk before disappearing in the direction of the kitchen.

Minhyuk pouted, but he didn’t give up.

His ultimate mission seemed to be to have Hoseok and Kihyun together in some point of the house were the plant was hanging from the ceiling. Hoseok regretted telling him that maybe he liked Kihyun a little bit.

It had slipped, at some point during a heartfelt conversation that involved quite some alcohol, and Minhyuk hadn’t stopped trying to set them up since Hoseok had made the mistake of revealing his secret.

Kihyun had been a good friend since the baking night the year before, a friend that went over to Hoseok’s place without being invited and brought him take out on the nights Hoseok didn’t have any strength to cook. Hoseok didn’t know what kind of sixth sense Kihyun had, but he was always around whenever Hoseok felt down or needed comfort. It was nice. Kihyun was nice, he was caring and sweet and Hoseok was maybe a little bit in love with him.

Just a little.

Despite his evil plans, Minhyuk was the perfect host throughout the night, serving them dinner and making them laugh. Hyungwon had literal heart sparkling in his eyes, and Hoseok couldn’t really blame him.

Until Minhyuk decided they should do drinking games.

Hoseok stared in horror while his cousin brought a shot roulette to the table, pouring vodka in the tiny glasses and explaining the rules of the game to them. Basically, everyone drank every turn, because Minhyuk made up the rules and he wanted them to be wasted by the end of the night.

“Let’s add a twist to it!” Minhyuk shouted after his third shot, his blinding grin doing nothing to ease the wariness keeping Hoseok on his toes, despite the edges of it starting to blur thanks to the alcohol.

Hyunwoo, unfazed by the five shots he had already downed, nodded in agreement.

“This is already getting boring.”

“Ok, let’s do this. Each of us will be asked truth or dare before taking a shot,” Minhyuk excitedly proposed, eliciting a  snort out of Changkyun.

“What are we, fifteen?”  
“You might as well be,” Minhyuk countered.

“I have to work tomorrow,” Kihyun interjected, standing up from the table and making his way towards the kitchen, “I’ll start washing the dishes!” he called out, and even if Hoseok could see that Minhyuk wanted to stop him, the hand Hyungwon put on his knee stopped him from following after the peach-haired man.

“You’re no fun!” Minhyuk yelled after him, but he got back to the drinking game.

By the time Hoseok had downed his sixth shot of the night, Minhyuk started to be a little shit.

“Dear cousin, truth or dare?”

Noticing the mischievous light sparkling in Minhyuk’s eyes, Hoseok stood up and excused himself to the kitchen, with the intent of getting some water. He forgot Kihyun was still there.

What he found when he entered the room was Kihyun standing on his tiptoes, trying to reach some mistletoe that Minhyuk had stuck right above the sink.

“That fucking little shit,” Kihyun murmured to himself, stretching as far as he could but without getting any results. The little plant stayed safe, taped in its place.

In his drunken stupor, Hoseok couldn’t help but stare in silence as Kihyun tried and tried again, standing on his socked feet and reaching his hands upwards, jumping a little up and down. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the endearing sight, Kihyun puffing his cheeks in annoyance as all his efforts turned into ashes.

Hoseok couldn’t stop looking at the little sliver of skin that showed up every time Kihyun reached up, when his white sweater got pulled up a little. Hoseok was sure that if he put his hands over that skin, it would be soft under his fingertips, and warm, and if he kissed it it would smell of Kihyun.

Mesmerized by the sight, Hoseok stood silently in the kitchen until Kihyun finally turned around and found him there.

“Hoseok, what the fuck! You scared me!” Kihyun squeaked while clutching his heart over his clothes. Hoseok smiled at him and pointed at the fridge.

“I just wanted some water,” he told him, getting a step closer to the side of the room Kihyun was standing in. The slightly shorter man put his hands up to keep him away.

“Don’t come here!” he told him, his nose pointing upwards, in the direction of the mistletoe.

“Oh, do you want help to take that down?” Hoseok asked him, ignoring Kihyun’s protest and getting closer to help him out. He was not much taller than Kihyun, but maybe he could help him up to take the branch down.  
Before he could even breath, Minhyuk was at the entrance of the kitchen, snickering at the scene unfolding before his eyes. Kihyun tried to move away, but Minhyuk was faster, trapping both of them right where he wanted.

“Minhyuk…” Kihyun warned, his tone vaguely menacing, his teeth gritted together in an annoyed expression. Hoseok’s mind was still a little bit fuzzy with alcohol, so he didn’t really feel like protesting. It wasn’t that bad of a situation, after all.

Truth was, Hoseok wouldn’t mind kissing Kihyun.

“You have to kiss!” Minhyuk called out, smiling like the cat that just got the milk.

“Minhyuk, this is not funny,” Kihyun countered, crossing his arms over his chest and throwing a ‘disappointed dad’ look in Minhyuk’s direction.

“What do you mean? It’s extremely funny.”

Kihyun looked angrier every second that passed by, and Hoseok didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Why was Kihyun seething? Did he dread the idea of kissing him that much?

The thought made his stomach fall to the floor, his heart following it right after.

Annoyed with both his cousin and his friend, Hoseok turned around to finally get some water out of the fridge.

“Hoseok you can’t just walk away! You two have to kiss!” Minhyuk cried out, outraged. Hoseok did the only thing that would get Minhyuk to shut up. He kissed Kihyun.

He gave the orange-haired man a small peck on the forehead, and then he got a water bottle in his hands, leaving the room and two dumbfounded men behind his back.

Not wanting to sit back down at the table with his friends, Hoseok got out on the balcony. The air was freezing, and he could spot a couple of snowflakes falling down from the sky in slow spirals that made his heart feel a little bit lighter. Snowy Christmas days were always happier. He stood there in silence, overlooking the city lights and thinking of the past, of Christmas days he spent with his family, of that giddiness filling his chest whenever he looked at the decorated tree in their living room. That year he wasn’t feeling anything like that. Maybe he was too old.

When he heard the glass door sliding open, he didn’t look to see who it was. Snow was falling harder, piling up on the metal railing and getting trapped in Hoseok’s hair, melting over his heated skin.

“You’re gonna catch a cold,” Kihyun told him, and Hoseok just shrugged his shoulders at him, his gaze still glued to the skyline.

Kihyun stood next to him, and Hoseok could feel his gaze on the side of his face.

“Are you ok?” Kihyun asked, worry lacing his words. Hoseok huffed a humorless laugh.

“I’m fine, just tipsy.”

He took a sip from the water bottle he forgot was still in his hand to sober up, while Kihyun kept staring at him in silence.

“What?”

“You look cold.”

Kihyun reached out to tug Hoseok a little bit down, unfolding the yellow scarf around his neck to share it with Hoseok.

Hoseok found out that the piece of clothing was as soft as the day he bought it, but it now smelled of Kihyun. It warmed him up immediately, his cheeks getting hotter when he realized Kihyun’s face was just a breath away from his. If he turned around, he could leave a smooch on his cheek. If both of them turned around, they could properly kiss.

Neither of them moved.

They stood in the cold air, watching snow fall, sharing body heat, until Hyungwon opened the door to tell them Minhyuk had fallen asleep with his face in the dessert. They laughed at his foolishness before following Hyungwon back inside.

 

*****

5th Christmas 

 

When Kihyun had told him he needed his help, Hoseok thought he was having trouble with putting up the Christmas lights or something like that. What he didn’t expect, was Kihyun to ask him on a date.  
“What?”  
“Can you be my fake boyfriend for Christmas?” Kihyun repeated, sighing for the nth time that afternoon. He dipped a cookie shaped as a tree into his cappuccino and kept his eyes on Hoseok’s expression.

“I know it’s a lot to ask for, but I don’t know anyone else who would do it. And I’m tired of hearing my relatives saying that at this point I should have someone in my life. ‘You’re twenty-six Kihyun, you’re gonna die alone!’”

“Twenty-six isn’t an old age.”  
“Tell that to my grandma,” Kihyun huffed a humorless laugh, twirling the spoon inside his cup and watching as the white foam parted.  
“It’s just one dinner, right?” Hoseok asked, stealing a cookie from Kihyun’s plate. They were sitting in their favourite café, the one in which Changkyun worked at during the holidays. Their friend had brought them some spare cookies to dip them in their coffees.

Kihyun observed as Hoseok bit into the star-shaped sweet and nodded his head up and down.

“Yes, just a dinner with my family. My parents, my grandma, a couple of cousins. Nothing too big.”

“Well, I think I can do that. I don’t really have plans for Christmas Eve, my parents are out of town that night.”

“Would you really do it?” Kihyun had a surprised expression on his face, his eyes sparkling with hope. Hoseok beamed at him, wanting to reach out and clean the cookie crumbs on his bottom lip.

“Sure! It’s Christmas. I should help my friends out.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Kihyun talked about his family for a while, making sure Hoseok remembered the most important things. They kept chatting for over a hour, exchanging intel about themselves that they thought the other should know to seem like a good boyfriend under the attentive eyes of Kihyun's family.

Hoseok was glad to discover that he already knew a lot of important stuff about Kihyun. He actually wasn’t sure when he memorized some of that intel, like which was Kihyun’s favourite food and at what age he discovered Santa wasn’t real.

“We just need to fake for a couple of hours. Do you think we can make it?”  
Hoseok smiled softly, offering a cookie to Kihyun and brushing their fingers together in the process of giving it to him.

“I’m sure we’ll be amazing.”

Honestly, Hoseok was just thrilled to hold his hand.

And hold his hand he did. They entered Kihyun’s house with their fingers interlocked, smiling at his surprised parents. They both looked like they had just seen a ghost, and Kihyun explained that they actually didn’t believe Hoseok really existed.

“You must be Hoseok!” Kihyun’s mom told him while shaking his hand, “Kihyun talks a lot about you!”

“Oh, does he?” Hoseok asked, throwing an amazed look in Kihyun’s direction. He could see the way Kihyun avoided meeting his gaze, feigning being in a deep conversation with his father.

“For sure! He seems to really care about you,” she told him, and Hoseok couldn’t stop the smile blooming on his face.

“I really care about him, too.”

Dinner went well, no one made comments about the lack of physical intimacy between the two of them. Kihyun had told him that his grandma didn’t mind the fact that he was gay, but he’d rather not upset her by being overly affectionate. Hoseok had deemed it a pity. He would have loved to cover Kihyun’s cheeks with tiny kisses throughout the night.

At some point Kihyun’s grandma told them that they seemed like a very happy couple, and that she was happy that Kihyun had finally found such a nice young man.

“I hope you’ll spend many more Christmas days together,” she told them, and Kihyun squeezed Hoseok’s knee under the table, leaving his hand there after. Hoseok could feel the warmth of it reaching him through his pants, scorching his skin.

When they left Kihyun’s house it was with promises of coming back soon spilling from Hoseok’s mouth. When Kihyun looked at Hoseok after the door of his parents’ home was closed behind them, his eyes were curled up in a smile. It made Hoseok’s heart skip a beat.

“Thank you,” Kihyun told him, his yellow scarf secured around his neck, making him look snuggly and soft, his rosy cheeks emerging from it. Hoseok wanted to tug him closer by it and kiss him.

And then he thought, why not?  
He reached out at the same time Kihyun did, and they met halfway. Kihyun tugged at the lapels of his coat while Hoseok clutched at Kihyun’s scarf, both of them bringing the other closer.

Hoseok thought that if he would ever kiss Kihyun, it would be a soft first kiss. Just a brush of lips against lips, warm pecks and shy looks.

But, as everything else about Kihyun, even his kisses were sharp. He kissed fiercely, pressing his mouth against Hoseok and making sure there was not a breath of air between their bodies, pressing as close as humanly possible.

When Hoseok thought Kihyun would take a step back and put an end to everything, maybe excusing himself for whatever just happened, he got surprised once again that night. Kihyun bit Hoseok’s bottom lip, stealing a whine out of his lips and taking advantage of that to swipe his tongue inside his mouth, tasting the sparkling wine they had just drunk.

Hoseok’s hands find their way in Kihyun’s hair, tugging at the brown strands and making the other man moan. When they finally separated, Kihyun had a cunning glint in his eyes. He looked up, and Hoseok followed his gaze.

Hanging above their heads, there was a branch of mistletoe.

“Did you put that there?” Hoseok asked, amused by Kihyun’s mischievous expression.

“What if I did?”

“I would think you really wanted to kiss me tonight.”

“And what if I did?”

“Well, I really wanted to kiss you too.”

Kihyun tugged at his coat again, bringing Hoseok closer so their noses would touch.

“As Minhyuk teached us, we have to kiss if we stand under the mistletoe.”

Hoseok didn’t know if what stole his breath away was Kihyun’s kiss or the smile on his pretty lips.

 

*****

 

6th Christmas 

 

Kihyun was sure there was something weird going on in his house. He kept hearing rustling coming from the living room, but he was too busy making dinner to go check on the noises. He really hoped his cat wasn’t wreaking havoc in there, tearing down the Christmas decorations he had put up with so much care the day before. He was pretty sure he’d seen her sleeping on a chair just a couple of minutes before, but she was a sneaky girl.

Not wanting to make his well crafted dinner burn, Kihyun decided to ignore the weird sounds.

But there was so much he could ignore, and when he heard a muffled scream, Kihyun turned off the stove to go check on his clumsy boyfriend.

“What’s going on here?” he asked when he found Hoseok sitting on the floor, looking scorned and directing nasty glares at the Christmas tree.

“What has the tree done to you, that you’re looking at it like you want to murder it?”

“It won’t let me put the star on top of it!” Hoseok cried out, showing the golden star held in his hands. Kihyun tried to hide the laugh that escaped his lips with a cough.

“Love, the tree is way taller than you. You’ll need a chair.”

“I don’t want to drag a chair here just to put a stupid star on top of this thing!” Hoseok cried out, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest. Kihyun put one of his hand on top of his head, gently caressing his hair.

“Do you want me to help?” he asked, because he knew that sometimes Hoseok got stubborn over some stupid little things. He didn’t mind, it was part of his boyish charm.

“Will you pick me up?” Hoseok questioned, turning his face up towards Kihyun, who wheezed a laugh. Then he realized Hoseok wasn’t joking.

“You’re asking me to pick you up? Me? Have you seen yourself?” Kihyun demanded, pointing at the way Hoseok’s biceps were bulging where he still had his arms crossed. Hoseok pouted harder, his eyes growing three sizes and the corners of his mouth curling down

Kihyun could recognize a losing battle when he saw one.

“Ok, I’ll pick you up. C’mon, let’s get this star on top.”

Hoseok beamed at him, making Kihyun’s lips curve in a reflecting smile. He stood up and let Kihyun anchor his arms around his thighs, ready to raise him towards the peak of the tree.

When Hoseok’s feet left the ground, Kihyun already felt like dying.

“A little bit higher, Ki!” he ordered, and Kihyun tried to use all his strength to help him up. He was pretty sure he would pull a muscle.  
“Just a little bit more!” Hoseok encouraged him, but Kihyun was already straining himself to the point he couldn’t even breathe anymore. Hoseok tried to reach forward, but the movement made Kihyun lose his footing and soon they fell over to the ground, Hoseok crushing Kihyun under his weight.

“Damn! We were almost there!” Hoseok lamented, rolling off Kihyun and huffing a chuckle at the pained expression on his boyfriend’s face.

“You broke me,” Kihyun wheezed, massaging his tailbone and giving Hoseok a mean glare. Hoseok crawled towards where Kihyun was sitting cross-legged on the floor and reclaimed his place in his lap.

“I’m sorry,” he told Kihyun, putting his arms and legs around him like a proper koala bear. Kihyun watched him with a scornful expression on his face, but Hoseok could see the glee shining in his eyes.

“How can I repair you?” Hoseok asked him, taking Kihyun’s face into his palms and stroking their noses together. He cupped Kihyun’s cheeks and let his fingers trail over his sharp jaw, caressing the edge of it.

“I need lot of kisses to be whole again,” Kihyun told him, and then he pushed his lips against Hoseok’s, stealing his next words from his mouth. They kissed slowly, savouring the moments they could spend together and enjoying the closeness of their bodies. When Kihyun licked his way into his mouth, Hoseok felt the sparks again. The sparks he had felt since the first moment he laid his eyes upon Kihyun, in that crowded living room, five years before. Kihyun sucked on his bottom lip, biting on it and making Hoseok moan quietly, and then stealing once again the sounds from his mouth. Peppering Hoseok’s jaw with tiny love bites, Kihyun breathed some words against his skin that Hoseok’s ears didn’t pick up, being filled by the loud thumping of his own heart.

“What?” he murmured, bending his neck so Kihyun could lick down it slowly, making Hoseok shiver in his embrace.

“I said merry Christmas, love.”

“Merry Christmas. I love you.”

When Hoseok looked up while Kihyun pushed him down on the floor and crawled in his lap, he saw a branch of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. He smiled at it, his eyes falling shut when Kihyun sat on him and kissed him again, until Hoseok couldn’t see anything else but his boyfriend and his beautiful, sparkling eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, you can come scream at me on [tumblr](http://kihobebe.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/kihoxbebe/) or [curios cat](https://curiouscat.me/kihoxbebe) :3


End file.
